The Law of Proximity
by MercuryHatter
Summary: Klaus is in desperate need for a place to stay and sees a newspaper ad for a cheap apartment. The catch: Only girls are allowed. He manages to convince the owner, Caroline Forbes, to allow him to co-rent it on the guise that he's in a committed relationship with his best mate, Stefan. Gradually, he finds himself slowly falling for Caroline. How will he continue to hide the truth?


Author's note: Hello, everyone! Apologies for the lack of update for my other story, _We Become Divine After Every Pain. _I know it's bad form to start a new story in the middle of an ongoing one but I just needed to let out my Klefaroline feels for this story. You've been warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. Although I'd be lying if I said I haven't dreamt of it.

Summary: Klaus is forced out of his home in London, and he decides to cross continents and crash at his bestfriend's place for the time being. Unfortunately, Stefan's brother, Damon is not having any of it. Stumbling onto a newspaper ad for an available cheap apartment, he quickly snatches the opportunity. The catch: only girls are allowed. He manages to convince the current owner, Caroline Forbes, to allow him to co-rent it on the guise that he's in a committed relationship with his best mate, Stefan Salvatore. Gradually, he finds himself slowly falling for Caroline. How will he continue to hide the truth?

* * *

"Bloody hell"

Klaus tried to block the persistent rays of sunshine that managed to peek through his curtains. He shuffled around and buried his face into the closest pillow he could find and brought an arm around it to bring it closer.

"Why am I not surprised that you've already claimed the position of the big spoon in this relationship?" came a gruff voice beside him.

Klaus groaned and disentangled himself from what he initially thought was a soft, warm pillow.

"Shut up, Stefan. It's way too early in the morning for your sass" he grumbled as he shuffled around once more, this time trying to create as much space between him and his best mate on the small double sized bed.

Stefan chuckled under his breath, eyes still closed. "I'm just saying, Klaus. If you wanted to spoon, all you needed to do was ask".

"Go fuck yourself, mate".

* * *

_Four days ago_

Klaus stood in front of his apartment staring at the notice of evacuation posted on his door. He swore under his breath as he stepped inside. The place had been ransacked beyond recognition. His balled his fists as anger quickly began to consume him.

"Niklaus" a male voice said.

Klaus snapped out his rage to gaze up to the figure lingering at the doorway.

"It seems father is still up to his old tricks" the man continued to say, as he stepped inside and assessed the damaged done to the unit.

"It would appear so, Elijah" Klaus said with gritted teeth, still seething.

Elijah stood still for a moment, dressed impeccably in one of his standard designer suits. He stared at his younger brother, as he had done with the rest of the apartment, slowly assessing the damage that his father had done.

Elijah sighed as he could see the telltale signs of his younger brother's rising temper. He cautiously approached Klaus as the latter stayed seated on the couch, with a stance that seemed to be coiled and ready to strike at any moment.

"Revenge won't do you well, brother. It will only encourage him more" Elijah said, as he took the seat beside Klaus. "Here, take these" Elijah continued, as he procured a set of airline tickets from his breast pocket and handed them to Klaus.

Klaus stared at the tickets for a moment before pushing them away. "I refuse to run away from him. I don't live under his roof anymore which means I don't need to live by his rules any longer".

Elijah sighed once more. It would be a lie if he told himself he hadn't expected this reaction. He handed the tickets once more to his younger brother, this time with a little more shove to the gesture.

"Don't let your pride override you, Niklaus. It has always been Mikael's downfall. Don't let it be yours as well. I overheard him on the phone early this morning, trying to land you in several realtors' blacklist. You may have the means to live on your own now but he's not going to make it easy for you, brother." Elijah said as he placed the tickets on his brother's lap, as Klaus has yet to accept them.

Klaus glared at the tickets on his lap before redirected his attention to his older brother. "And where exactly do you expect me to go, brother? Mikael had made sure to crush all my chances of making friends. The only friend I have is currently continents away"

"Hence the plane ticket, Niklaus" Elijah said, in a tone similar to that used to reprimand a disobedient child. "If you would stop glaring at the tickets as if it had killed your puppy, then you would see that they are for a flight to Chicago. Your flight leaves tonight".

Klaus did nothing but scowl in response.

* * *

"I'm sorry for the last minute notice, mate. Certain circumstances have forced my hand to leave London."

"I understand, Klaus. I figure I still owe you one after you saved me from getting pummelled outside of that English pub". Stefan said, as he sat up on his bed.

He heard the chuckle on the other side of the line. "Yes, I believe you do. My flight's just been called. I'll ring you once I land".

Stefan stared at the phone in his hand before getting out of bed. He begrudgingly made his way out of his room and approached the door at the opposite end of the hallway. He sighed as he gathered enough patience to finally knock on the door.

It took three knocks before he heard the footsteps on the other side of the door. The door swung open and a man held it ajar.

"What do you want, Stefan?" the man asked.

Stefan pursed his lips in a thin line, knowing this conversation was going to turn sour fast. "I need a favour, Damon" he started.

Damon only rolled his eyes in boredom as he gestured his younger brother to continue.

"I have a friend coming over" Stefan said, as he waited for his brother's reaction.

Damon threw back his head in laughter as he said, "You don't need my permission to get laid, brother. By all means, have a sorority party. It might cure you of your incessant brooding".

Stefan closed his eyes for a moment and took a long deep breath, trying to fight the urge to let Damon bait him. "Klaus is flying from London tonight. He'll be here in 8-9 hours or so. I told him he could stay here until he gets his own place".

All laughter left Damon once he heard the name Klaus. Stefan had expected this reaction and braced himself for a fight. It was no secret that the Elder Salvatore did not hold his British friend in high esteem. Ever since they had met during Damon's visit to England, the two men had been on outs with eachother.

"Well, you can tell that British asshole to go back to jolly ol' England. No one wants him here!" Damon said, as he moved to close his door frustration.

Stefan jammed his foot in the doorway and shoved the door open. "Stop being a child, Damon. May I remind you that you're older than me? Start acting like it. I won't pretend to know what exactly it is between you two that urge you to tear each other's liver out but he's my friend".

Damon glared at his brother as he let his words sink in. "Fine. He can stay here for one day".

Stefan shook his head in disagreement. "Not good enough. At least give him a week".

"Don't push it. I'm giving him three days, and that's it. Best to tell him to stay out of my way or else I'm kicking him out sooner than agreed. Friend or not" Damon said, as he kicked Stefan's foot out of the way and slamming the door in his face.

* * *

Klaus felt a tiny jab in his ribs as he was slowly roused from sleep. He groaned as he struggled to adjust his eyes from the harshness of the cabin lights. With sleep laden eyes, he turned his gaze to the source of the jab.

He raised an eyebrow inquisitively at the sight before him. A blonde blue eyed little girl was staring right back at him with a mega watt smile on her face.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to poke innocent strangers on a plane, sweetheart?" he asked, looking around for the child's parents.

The child in question giggled in response. "You have a funny way of speaking, mister".

"Where I come from, you're the one with the funny accent, love" he retorted, earning a confused face from the toddler.

Just when he thought he had undoubtedly scared the little girl off, she suddenly reached out to touch his face. Caught off guard, Klaus could only remain still to prevent himself from flinching from the unexpected touch.

The toddler once again giggled before poking the side of his face. "My daddy says that this is a dimple. You have a dimple, mister" she said, as she moved to poke her own face. "I have one too, right here. It comes out when I smile. See?" with that, she gave him another one of her toothy smiles.

Klaus chuckled at the child before him. "Now, now. What did I say about poking innocent strangers, darling?"

The little girl giggled again and said, "That it's not nice".

"Margaret, sweetie. Didn't I tell you to stay beside daddy Stephen?" a voice said, causing the little girl to pout.

Klaus looked up to the owner of the voice. It was a man, standing in the aisle with a reprimanding look in his eyes.

The man redirected his gaze to Klaus before extending his hand to him. "Hi, I'm Bill. I believe you've met my daughter, Margaret. Please excuse her, she didn't mean any harm".

Klaus took the hand offered to him and shook it firmly. "Hi Bill, I'm Klaus. No worries, Margaret here was actually quite the darling little girl".

Bill chuckled at Klaus before shaking his head. "Be careful, Klaus. I see she's already gotten you around her little finger. She's known to exploit the power she has on other people" He said as he offered his hand, palm up to the little girl before him.

"Come on, angel. Let's get you to sleep. We still have hours to go before we land" Bill said. Margaret took his hand and slid down the airline chair. She turned around to give Klaus a big wave goodbye before bouncing down the aisle with her father.

"Daddy, why does Mister Klaus talk funny? I can't wait to see Caro to tell her about mister Klaus and his funny talk" the girl rambled, causing Klaus to smile to himself.

* * *

Stefan adjusted his aviators and tucked the newspaper under his arm. He quickly scanned the airport gates as a number of people made their way out. It didn't take long before he spotted the familiar man, slinging a duffle bag on his shoulder. He whistled loudly, causing numerous heads to snap in his direction.

Klaus made his way to his friend as soon as he heard the whistle. He grinned at him as they simultaneously broke into their secret brotherhood handshake, which they had drunkenly concocted one night.

"It's good to have you, man. Welcome to Chicago" Stefan said as he clasped his friend on the shoulder.

Klaus smiled in response as he followed Stefan to his car. "Still driving that little piece of shit, I see." He said, as he saw Stefan's car in the distance.

"Hey! No hate allowed, man. Not cool. I happen to have gotten laid multiple times in that piece of shit" Stefan retorted.

"Twice does not count as multiple times, mate" Klaus said, as he walked to the passenger's side.

"Yeah, yeah. You're just _bloody _hilarious, _mate_" Stefan mocked. He started the engine and realized he still had the newspaper with him. He tossed it nonchalantly to the passenger next to him as Klaus threw him a confused look.

"Damon didn't take the news too well. He only agreed to let you stay for three days in the apartment. You can run through the ads in the newspaper for a cheap place to rent. There are tons of them there" Stefan said, as he made his way out of the parking lot.

"Yes, I'd imagine Damon threw quite the fit at the news that I'll be visiting. Your brother never really liked me, did he?" the Brit snarled.

Stefan snickered at the childish remark. "You never liked him either, man. The way I see it, you _blokes_ are just going to have to act your old age and play nice to each other while we all figure things out".

Klaus frowned at his friend. "For your information, I happen to act my age all the time".

"Maybe, but both of you still maintain the temper tantrums of a two year old".

* * *

"Maggie!" Caroline yelled, as she ran towards the little girl at the airport gates. The little girl caught sight of Caroline and ran to meet her halfway.

"Caro!" Maggie said, as Caroline picked her up and hugged her tight.

"I missed you, sweetie. Did you miss me?" Caroline asked her younger sister as she stayed in her arms.

Maggie smiled and nodded in response.

Caroline turned her attention to the two male figures approaching them, each with a suitcase in tow. She walked towards them and smiled. The two men quickly hugged Caroline as she continued to carry Maggie in her arms.

"We missed you, darling." Bill said, as he stepped out of the embrace.

"I missed all three of you too, daddy. Especially this little angel right here" Caroline said, as she kissed the top of Maggie's head.

Stephen laughed as Maggie let out a giggle. "She seems to have everyone wrapped around her little pretty finger, don't you darling?" he asked as he pinched Maggie's nose.

As they made their way to the car, Bill sat on the front seat while Maggie and Stephen took the backseat.

"This little angel right here almost gave me a heart attack when I woke up on the plane only to find the seat beside me to be empty" Stephen said, as they made their way out of the parking lot.

Maggie suddenly bounced out of her seat. "I remember now, Caro! I made a new friend today. His name was mister Klaus. He talked funny, and then he said I talked funny. He had dimples right here" She rambled as she quickly pointed at the side of her face.

Caroline nodded fervently and smiled.

* * *

It took him nearly two full days before he finally found an apartment that fit his budget. Due to the sudden nature of his departure, the amount of cash he had on hand was limited. He had withdrawn all the remaining cash on his bank account in case his father came up with the bright idea to freeze all his assets. He figured the best way would be to ration it during his stay in Chicago.

_Wanted: Roommate_

_2 Bedroom unit. 1 Bathroom. 1 Kitchen and dining room. Fully furnished._

_Note: Only females will be accepted._

_Price range: 400 $ / month_

_If interested, please contact Caroline at +xx xxxx xxx xxx._

This was the only acceptable price range that offered the privacy and luxury of a separate bedroom. He collected himself before dialling the number on the ad.

After a few rings, a female voice picked up the line.

"Hello, this is Caroline. May I know who this is please?"

Klaus smiled at the pleasant voice that met his ears. "Hello, Caroline. My name is Klaus. I just saw your wanted ad for a roommate on the newspaper. I just want to ask you a few questions about it if you have some time".

He could hear some shuffling on the other end as the girl calmly spoke, "I see. May I know if you're inquiring on behalf of someone else? A girlfriend perhaps or a sister?"

"I'm afraid not, sweetheart. I'm looking to be the one to co-rent it with you" he said, with his most charming tone.

"Look, buddy. I've had just about enough of these calls to last a lifetime so I'll make it easy for the both of us. First and foremost, do not call me sweetheart. Second, don't pretend that you didn't see the little note I had especially made for the ad stating that only females will be allowed. Creepers like you should just go to hell and stop preying on women. There is more to life than getting into a girl's pants" she rambled, her voice slowly escalating in anger.

Klaus merely chuckled in response, amused at her reaction. "You must be mistaken, Caroline. I didn't mean to offend you by calling you sweetheart. It's a British thing, or so I've been told. I won't call you any nicknames anymore if it makes you uncomfortable. As for the part of getting in your pants, I believe that you can set your mind at ease. I have no intentions in getting in your pants. Ever".

Caroline scoffed at the other end of the line. She couldn't believe the nerve of this guy! "Right. And I'm just supposed to believe that?"

"Well, _first and foremost_, I'm not attracted to women. I have no desire whatsoever to ever _get into a girl's pants _as you've phrased it. _Second, _I am in a committed relationship with my partner. Male partner". Klaus lied.

As much as he hated to lie to a complete stranger, his priorities were on finding a stable place before his finances run out.

Stefan took this time to walk into the living room, staring at Klaus with a confused expression on his face, having heard the last bit of their conversation.

Klaus grinned and made a shushing gesture with his finger to his lips and winked.

"Oh, I see" was the only response he got from his lie.

"I apologize again, Caroline, if I offended you earlier. If not for my current situation, I would've heeded your note about your no males rule. I just moved out here from London a couple of days ago, as you can probably judge from my accent. But if it's too much of a bother, please disregard this call. I'm sure you have other roommate candidates to attend to…" Klaus send, purposely drawling out his last few words in attempt to attract her pity.

He heard her sigh, causing him to break out in a Cheshire grin. "No, it's not a bother. I apologize if I overreacted earlier. I've been receiving quite a few creeper calls regarding the apartment lately. How about this, we can meet in person to discuss the specifics. I have to tell you though, this is still not a yes, but it's not a no either. Let me get back to you on the details, okay?"

"That sounds perfect. I'll wait for your message then. Take care, Caroline. Bye".

Klaus smiled down at his phone before remembering Stefan's presence in the room.

"You never told me you were gay, man. Then again, you are British. I probably should've made the connection myself" Stefan teased.

"Oh, shut it. I did what I had to do. It was the only available apartment within my current budget but the owner only wanted to rent it out to females. I had to improvise" Klaus replied, shrugging.

Stefan let out a laugh as he settled down on the chair across from Klaus.

"And this boyfriend you were talking about? I'm sure she'd love to meet him, if only to confirm that you're not lying through your teeth. Which you are by the way".

"Oh that's easy. My boyfriend happens to be seating right across from me" Klaus said, as he reveled in the shocked expression on Stefan's face.

"We just need to brush up on our acting skills if we're going to make this convincing, _honey". _

* * *

Author's note: So what do you think? Don't be shy and leave a review! ;)

Short spoiler: Caroline will be meeting Klaus and Stefan in the next chapter. What could go wrong, right?


End file.
